GLA Spend

Andrew Boff: How much money has the GLA spent on marketing/digital/communications/external affairs agencies over the past 5 years, broken down by year? Please also provide details of what this money was used for and which agencies were/are used?

The Mayor: Officers are drafting a response. Please be aware that there may be some delay as there is a substantial amount of data required in order to answer your question fully.

ULEZ and Powered Two-Wheelers

Keith Prince: Will the Mayor meet Tony Campbell, the chief executive of the MCIA, to discuss ULEZ and powered two wheelers?

The Mayor: Transport for London (TfL) sent a letter to the Motorcycle Action Group (MAG), copied to Tony Campbell, Motorcycle Industry Association (MCIA), on 22 May. The letter addresses each point raised by MAG and MCIA to date on the Ultra Low Emission Zone and its impact on motorcyclists. The letter made clear that if there were further issues, TfL would be happy to meet again to discuss them.

Facial recognition trials

Susan Hall: Is it true that during recent facial recognition trials, leaflets were handed out warning people that they are entering a facial recognition area?
How many were stopped under the trials and how many arrests were made?

The Mayor: Yes, on all deployments of the MPS live facial recognition trial,information leaflets were handed out by officers. The MPS also ‘advertised’ the last5deployments in the local media and informed pressure groups and statutory partners well in advance. Clear displays and posterswere usedin addition to explain that Live Facial Recognition was being used.This is in line with the recommendation from the London Policing Ethics Panel that the MPS should clarify and inform the public of the questions the trials are intended to address, and why public participation is necessary.
In all, the MPS had8arrests from the deployments and since July 2017 they have formally engaged (via the technology) with 26 people. Please be aware that many other conversations and interactions took place with the public as part of the MPS’ routine engagement –these numberin the hundreds.

TfL Budget - South of the River (3)

Andrew Boff: Of all the transport infrastructure upgrades planned over the next three years, what percentage will take place in boroughs south of the river?

The Mayor: Transport for London’s (TfL’s) budget is not divided along the geographic lines like that of the River Thames. TfL’s infrastructure upgrades are considered and designed to benefit all Londoners.
Local Implementation Plan (LIP) funding is the process through which TfL provides financial support to boroughs for schemes to improve their transport networks in line with my Transport Strategy objectives. In TfL’s 2018 Business Plan, the LIP allocation for 19/20 is £20,740,000 for boroughs south of the river and £44,005,000 for boroughs north of the river.*
Just under two thirds of London’s population is north of the river, the remaining third is south of the river, and TfL’s surface level schemes broadly reflect this.
There are a range of transport upgrades taking place, or planned, south of the River Thames. These include:
*This analysis excludes the London Borough of Richmond, which spans the River Thames.

TfL Budget - South of the River (1)

Andrew Boff: How much of the TfL budget is spent in London boroughs south of the river?

The Mayor: Transport for London’s (TfL’s) budget is not divided along the geographic lines of the River Thames. TfL’s infrastructure upgrades are considered and designed to benefit all Londoners.
Local Implementation Plan (LIP) funding is the process through which TfL provides financial support to boroughs for schemes to improve their transport networks in line with my Transport Strategy objectives. In TfL’s 2018 Business Plan, the LIP allocation for 19/20 is £20,740,000 for boroughs south of the river and £44,005,000 for boroughs north of the river.*
Just under two-thirds of London’s population is north of the river, the remaining third is south of the river, and TfL’s surface level schemes broadly reflect this.
*This analysis excludes the London Borough of Richmond which spans the River Thames.

Cut to the 25 Bus Route (1)

Tony Devenish: Did TfL carry out a Disability/Equality Impact Assessment on the cut to route 25 between Holborn Circus and Oxford Circus?

The Mayor: Please see my response to Mayor's Question 2019/6061.

San Francisco bans facial recognition technology

Sian Berry: In May 2019, San Francisco, one of the most technology-friendly cities in the world, announced a complete ban on the police use of facial recognition. The San Francisco city legislature announced the ban on the basis that police use of facial recognition was so fundamentally invasive and inherently likely to endanger civil rights and civil liberties that it should never be used. Will you follow this leading example and prevent the use of intrusive and authoritarian police facial recognition in London?

The Mayor: The legislative arrangements in San Francisco and London are very different with different powers available to the city Board of Supervisors. I think it right that the Met explores new technologies to keep Londoners safe. In its recent report, the London Policing Ethics Panel concluded that there is a need for the police to build and maintain the public’s trust in their use of new technologies and sets out recommendations and conditions to help achieve this and that MOPAC and the MPS should lobby government to strengthen regulation of new technology.
MOPAC will continue to work closely with the Met to ensure the panel’s recommendations are addressed before further deployment.

Emergency Services Network (1)

Caroline Pidgeon: Given the delay to the new Emergency Services Network, can you confirm that all infrastructure for the ESN will be installed on the Elizabeth Line before it opens to minimise disruption for passengers?

The Mayor: Significant elements of the required infrastructure for the Emergency Services Network (ESN) have already been installed as part of the Crossrail Programme, primarily in the tunnels. Work is underway on the remaining infrastructure elements and Transport for London (TfL) is aligning this with the related works to deliver commercial mobile services on the Elizabeth line, which will use the same infrastructure as ESN services.
Subject to the results of TfL’s ongoing procurement for a concession to operate these commercial mobile services on the Underground, under current schedules this infrastructure should be completed on the Elizabeth line by March 2021. However, this work must be aligned with, and cannot disrupt, the existing Crossrail delivery programme.
The Elizabeth line will be ready to operate with the existing Airwave service from the start of its operations until such time as the Home Office has transitioned London’s Emergency Services Users to ESN.

Friendship Day (2)

Joanne McCartney: A constituent has asked me to ask if you will establish either a Friendship Memorial, Friendship Benches or Friendship Trees in public spaces in London? An example location the constituent mentions is the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park.

The Mayor: Good quality and accessible public spaces give people the opportunity to meet and build meaningful relationships, as well as to have moments of peace and reflection in this vibrant city. As mentioned, the Great British Oak Tree in Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park is a much-loved tree in a quiet and reflective area of the park created for the London 2012 Games. It serves as a place for people to remember friends and family.

As part of my plans to make London a National Park City I have funded the planting of over 170,000 trees, and 200 green space improvements across London. Many of these projects aim to bring Londoners together through planting trees and creating community green spaces that provide a place for gathering, rest and relaxation.

I am committed to promoting social integration with inclusive design into London’s built environment that and am delivering this through the draft London Plan and Good Growth Fund.

Transport for London staff (7)

Florence Eshalomi: Please share the cost in 2017/18 of the use of consultancies, broken down into NPL, management consultancies associated with transformation, and professional services.

The Mayor: Since becoming Mayor I have challenged Transport for London (TfL) to reduce costs across the business. As part of this, TfL has continued to work to reduce its reliance on consultancy and professional services firms as well as agency staff, driving down the cost of non-permanent labour and consultancy to make significant savings.
The 2017/18 cost is broken down as follows:
TfL continually review these costs to ensure services are sourced in the most cost-effective way.
The TfL Transformation programme has already established a recurring saving of £111m per year. This has involved redesigning 30 business areas and evaluating in excess of 10,000 roles. This significant undertaking has involved the use of management consultants, the costs associated with this – reflected in the above total costs – was £12.02m in 2017/18.

Transport for London staff (1)

Florence Eshalomi: Please confirm a) thenumbers of individuals currently employed by Transport for London as consultants (which do not currently appear on headcount figures) and b) the total cost

The Mayor: Transport for London (TfL) does not, of course, directly employ the people working on projects for consulting or Professional Services firms.
Consultants are typically brought into the business to deliver a defined piece of work and for an agreed price. The team they decide to deploy to deliver that work is a matter for the firm itself. TfL is therefore unable to confirm the exact number of individual consultants currently working in the business.
Consultancy work includes complex programme management and engineering consulting vital to the successful delivery of major infrastructure projects.
Please see my answer to Mayor's Question 2019/3932on costs.

Transport for London staff (3)

Florence Eshalomi: How many consultants have been employed by Transport for London for a) 3 months or longer and b) 6 months or longer in the last 18 months.

The Mayor: Transport for London (TfL) does not, of course, directly employ the people working on projects for consulting or Professional Services firms.
Consultants are typically brought into the business to deliver a defined piece of work and for an agreed price. The team they decide to deploy to deliver that work is a matter for the firm itself. TfL is, therefore, unable to confirm the exact number of individual consultants currently working in the business.
A review of the use of Professional Service consultants is under way and will enable further savings across TfL.

London Policing Ethics Panel survey results on live facial recognition

Sian Berry: Table 2 of the London Policing Ethics Panel final report on live facial recognition, published in May 2019, showed that 29 per cent of Asian, 23 per cent of Black and 28 per cent of mixed ethnic groups would stay away from live facial recognition monitored events. Do you agree that it is unacceptable for these groups of Londoners to be disproportionately affected and deterred from attending public events?

The Mayor: It is a concern that the London Policing Ethics Panel report indicates that the use of LFR may dissuade people from engaging in legitimate activities in public space. The panel examined this and the counter argument that surveillance can make public spaces safer. The difference in results between groups further underlines the need for the police to build and maintain the public’s trust in their use of new technologies. The panel’s report sets out recommendations and conditions to help achieve this, including the need for robust governance and meaningful controls. We will continue to work closely with the Met and ensure the panel’s recommendations are addressed before further deployment.

Detective shortage

Andrew Dismore: What progress is being made with solving the detective shortage in the Met. In particular what is the establishment of detectives a) for the Met as a whole and b) in each BCU; and how many of those posts are vacant c) generally and d) in each BCU?

The Mayor: As of May 2019, there were 4,651 Detective Constables in the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS), with 232 vacancies against the current establishment model.
However, the MPS are re-designing the Specialist Crime Command. This is likely to result in changes to both detective and uniformed posts. As such, the MPS will need to re-profile its establishment model as the re-design is completed.
The MPS operates a Detective Resilience Group (DRG) to ensure vacancies are filled as quickly as possible. The vacancy rate has significantly improved over the last 12 months and is now less than 5 per cent.
A breakdown per BCU as of end of May 2019 is provided in the table below:
Detective Constable
Current Modelled Establishment
Actual
Vacancy
AS - Central South Command Unit
213.00
227.68
-14.68
AW - Central West Command Unit
224.00
235.63
-11.63
CE - Central East Command Unit
191.00
186.79
4.21
CN - Central North Command Unit
165.00
167.85
-2.85
EA - East Area Command Unit
208.75
215.84
-7.09
NA - North Area Command Unit
185.00
183.43
1.57
NE - North East Command Unit
192.00
172.26
19.74
NW - North West Command Unit
224.00
222.71
1.29
SE - South East Command Unit
219.00
217.13
1.87
SN - South Area Command Unit
215.00
214.71
0.29
SW - South West Command Unit
184.00
193.26
-9.26
WA - West Area Command Unit
238.00
242.42
-4.42
BCU Total
2458.75
2479.71
-20.96
Other
2424.80
2171.64
253.16
Met Total
4883.55
4651.35
232.20

Route 25 bus route

Caroline Pidgeon: Why was no equalities assessment carried out before the decision to cut the number 25 bus route between Holborn Circus and Oxford Circus? Will you review your decision to cut this route?

The Mayor: Equalities implications are considered by Transport for London (TfL) when making transport decisions. While the way equalities assessments are documented has evolved, the transport planning process has always ensured that the needs and requirements of local people from all sections of the community are recognised when developing changes to bus routes.
As part of this process during the route 25 consultation, TfL engaged closely with boroughs and community groups such as Age UK and Disability Rights UK to ensure the views and requirements of protected groups were taken into consideration. TfL also carefully examined passenger data to understand the impact of the proposed changes, and reviewed interchange suitability, including availability of lighting, seating, and shelter.
As a result, TfL is satisfied that the decision to curtail route 25 was properly conducted. It will however keep under review how the route is operating.
Based on available ticketing data since this change came into effect, on average TfL has observed 23 interchanges per day by elderly and disabled passengers resulting from these changes.

Voyeurism (Offences) Act 2019 – Upskirting

Caroline Pidgeon: Since the Voyeurism (Offences) Act 2019 came into force on the 12th April 2019 how many prosecutions have been undertaken by the Metropolitan Police Service?

The Mayor: Since section 67A of the Sexual Offences Act 2003 – voyeurism: “up skirting” came into force on 12thApril2019, the Metropolitan Police Service has recorded nine“up skirting” offences including two cases where it has not been possible to identify the victim. Of these offences a suspect has been identified in three cases. All three cases are awaiting forensic download of digital devices. Suspects are at different stages of the investigation stage with no prosecutions yet taking place.

88 bus route

Andrew Dismore: Since the C2 bus has been replaced by the 88 bus constituents report to me there has been total shambles with late buses, rude drivers and shortened routes.  What will you do to improve this service?

The Mayor: Since 30 March when the route 88 service was extended to Parliament Hill Fields from Camden Town the customers have waited just over a minute longer than Transport for London expect for this route. Overall the route has performed better than the minimum performance standard for reliability. However, at times the route has been subject to significant disruption due to events such as the Extinction Rebellion and Private Hire and Taxi demonstrations in central London. As a result, the service has, at times, had to be temporarily revised to help maintain reliability on the north and south sections of the route away from the disrupted areas.
I am disappointed to hear reports that some drivers have not provided the excellent customer service provided by the vast majority of London’s bus drivers. The 88’s operator, London General, has taken action following four complaints from customers. London General has also reminded all drivers on the route of high levels of customer service required of them at all times. I would encourage your constituents to continue to complain if the service does not meet the expected standards, so that action can be taken.

Tube Overcrowding

Keith Prince: For the years 15/16, 16/17, 17/18 and 18/19, please provide data showing the degree of overcrowding at each London Underground station.

The Mayor: The table below shows the number of incidents by station attributed to crowding/congestion, which have caused delays of two minutes or more between 2015/16 and 2018/19. Over this period there has been an increase in passenger journeys on the Tube network, from 1.34 billion in 2015/16 to 1.38 billion in 2018/19. On Friday 7 December 2018, it was the busiest day ever on the Tube, with 5.043 million journeys made.
Transport for London (TfL) has put in place a number of measures to address the increase in delays due to congestion. This includes appointing congestion leads for each line, and facilitating congestion workshops with staff working in stations that have significant congestion issues. These workshops are used to share best practice, while also developing and trialling new location-specific methods to reduce congestion.
Ultimately, though, we need the Government to provide certainty over steady and sustained future capital funding so that TfL can invest in building new capacity on the Tube, for example, through new signalling on the Piccadilly line, and so that the vital Crossrail 2 can be advanced.

Help for young girls

Florence Eshalomi: What steps are the Met taking to safeguard young girls known to be associated with local gangs?

The Mayor: The Met work with partners to educate girls on the risk of gangs and support those affected. The Met’s Trident Partnership officers deliver bespoke educational packages for girls, parents and teachers covering the risks of gangs and criminal exploitation. Training is also delivered to Safer Schools officers, parents, and teachers so that they know what to do if they have concerns about girls being involved in criminal exploitation and can refer in to the National Referral Mechanism which provides a level of safeguarding and support.
The Met are tackling the exploitation of girls and boys by county lines drugs networks and have used modern slavery legislation to obtain convictions. The Met are aware of support which exists in these cases, such as the Rescue and Response programme I fund, which uses specialist organisation Abianda to support exploited young women.
Additional tactics available to the Met include conflict resolution as a means of engaging those affected by violence, and the DIVERT Youth programme which engages with 10-17 year olds during the teachable moment they are in police custody.
The Met also have good relationships with the Oasis and Redthread youth workers in hospitals which I contribute funding to and refer into the London Gang Exit programme and Rescue and Response county lines programme which I fund.

Transport for London staff (8)

Florence Eshalomi: What is the total cost to Transport for London in 2017/18 of non-permanent labour, management consultancy and professional services?

The Mayor: Please see my answer to Mayor's Question 2019/3932.

Diesel Buses

Susan Hall: How much diesel is used by London’s buses every month?

The Mayor: The bus fleet contracted by Transport for London (TfL) is a vital part of the city’s transport network that enables the city to function. It provides around 180 million customer trips and uses around 17,900,000 litres of diesel a month. To reduce the most harmful emissions, three quarters of the 9,100 vehicles have been raised to the ultra-clean Euro VI engine standard, or better. The remainder will follow through a combination of retrofitting mid-life buses or replacing them with new buses between now and 2020. Making the fleet ultra clean will enable TfL to cut diesel emissions significantly before the fleet becomes zero-emission by 2037 at the latest, as electric and fuel-cell hydrogen buses become more efficient and cheaper to operate, and supporting infrastructure is put in place. Currently, there are 155 zero-emission electric and 10 fuel-cell buses in the fleet making it the largest zero emission bus fleet outside China.

Access to Whipps Cross Complex via bus

Jennette Arnold: Why are constituents who need to visit Whipps Cross Hospital from Chingford expected to take two or three buses in order to get into the hospital complex?

The Mayor: Route 357 links much of the Chingford area, including Chingford Mount and Chingford Hatch, directly with the Whipps Cross Hospital area.Those in other parts of Chingford not directly served can take routes such as the 97 or 444 and change to the 357 (this interchange is at the same stop), or take route 212 going to Walthamstow town centre and change there to route W12, W15 or W19 to Whipps Cross Hospital (this interchange is at Walthamstow bus station). My Hopper fare means there is no additional charge for customers who change buses within an hour of first touching in.

Use of algorithms by the Metropolitan Police Service (2)

Caroline Pidgeon: Do you support policing by facial recognition algorithms being used in the capital?

The Mayor: The Metropolitan Police has carried out 10 trials using facial recognition technology across London as part of efforts to incorporate the latest technologies into day-to-day policing. I agree that it is right that the MPS explores new technologies to keep Londoners safe.
I welcome the London Policing Ethics Panel’s extensive report into the potential implications of facial recognition software, and the recommendation that this technology should only be deployed by the police after five conditions are met – including strict new guidelines. The panel also recommends that MOPAC and the MPS should lobby government to strengthen regulation of new technologies.
MOPAC will continue to work closely with the Met and ensure the panel’s recommendations are addressed before further deployment.

Rehabilitation Opportunities for Female Offenders (1)

Unmesh Desai: In September 2018 you said that your investment into enhanced services for female offenders would improve the quality of community sentences and result in fewer grounds to send women offenders to prison. What impact has your investment had to date?

The Mayor: My investment of £4.6m over 3 years is providing tailored services to female offenders. It includes one to one and group support, addressing mental health, substance misuse, well-being, domestic abuse, parenting skills, employability, financial management, accessing appropriate accommodation and tenancy sustainment.
We arenow at the start of Year 2 delivery. Twenty-one boroughs have coverage, with 3 regional Women’s Centres. A new centre recently opened in Islington.
The service is being fully evaluated.The final evaluation is due in 2022, with interim reports. To date, serviceuser response is very positive. Vast numbers reported increased feelings of safety from violence and abuse; increased health, improvement in housing issues and financial management. Key output data reveals 443 women engaged in one to one support services and 1,619 accessed women’s centre provision.
Training is provided to court staff (including District Judges, magistracy and probation) on the service’s benefits as alternatives to custody. This work is underpinned by London’s Blueprint for a Whole System Approach to Women in Contact with the Criminal Justice System, which supports wider partnership activity to reduce women’s imprisonment.